Friday, 27 April 2012

Double Bay

I must admit that having been to Sydney three times before, I didn't have a lot left on my list of things to do. We've done The Rock and Bondi Beach; in fact I still wore bikinis back in 1999 and I insisted on doing all the beaches around Sydney. The idea that they needed shark nets creeped me out so I never went in more than knee deep but the beaches are stunningly gorgeous nevertheless.

Love the upstairs windows with the mini-balconies!

On some bus journey or other I'd got a glimpse of some shops that looked interesting in a place called Double Bay. Jane told me it was colloquially called 'Double Bay - Double Pay'.

'Cafe Society'

However, for lack of any other ideas I suggested Double Bay as a day out for Bill and me. We got the bus down to Circular Quay and then a ferry down to Double Bay.

Double Bay was a pleasant little suburb full of very expensive shops, just as Jane had said. I like window shopping well enough and we both enjoyed the art deco buildings. More than anything, we just enjoyed walking around in the sunshine after days and days of rain.

Just looking at the residents walking around, mostly women, one could see that it was a very upmarket area. Even though they wore casual clothing, they were well dressed and well groomed: no chipped manicures or ripped jeans in sight. Yet again I've learned a new word! Apparently the opposite of slumming is 'ritzing'; well, we wuz ritzin', baby.

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Bill spotted this Masarati Quattroporte; he and Jeremy give these a thumbs up.

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﻿Bill pointed out a consignment shop with a French name. With nothing better to do, I went in and browsed. Bill wandered around outside until I pulled him in to show him some interesting things I'd found and to get his opinion on a few.

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Diamond-roofed dollhouse anyone?

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Naturally the woman who ran the shop told me everything I tried on looked great, but Bill nixed one and I ended up buying three tops. Then we browsed a few of the designer dresses and bags for which I had no use, admiring the fine fabrics and interesting construction.

The proprietress had stories for several, explaining that some of the clients who placed their clothing items with her were often in the public eye and felt that once they'd been photographed with a memorable item, eg a clutch bag covered with red feathers, they could no longer use it. Others apparently had particularly bitchy 'friends' who would snear if they wore last year's Prada. Somehow for all their beautiful clothes I can't find it in my heart to envy these women.

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Adorable baby dolls and romantic embroidery push all the right buttons.

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As the owner wrote my receipt for $200 (I know, I know, foreign money never seems like real money to me...), she informed me that the original purchase prices for those items came to $1,200 and that I'd 'saved' $1,000. Now, I'm not even certain that the items are worth $200 in hindsight, only that I've not seen anything like them in any charity shops in Britain or the US. To say they were 'worth' that extraordinary amount just seemed silly to me. I suppose her math works for her less cynical clients; Bill and I just had a good laugh after leaving. (And I did wear the unusual black top with jeans to a birthday party, about which I'll be telling you...).

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For your little rhinestone cowboy?

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After that we paid something like $12 for an iced tea and a fruit juice, not including the tip for our Irish waitress, and then decided we'd 'done' Double Bay.

4 comments:

Well, I hope we get to see a pic or two of you in your new tops. I know I am always wary of prices in shops when we travel...and a colleague told me when she traveled to Europe two years ago, she was agog at the price of a bottle of water.

Sounds like a lovely day! I like looking at beautiful things and admiring something smart and/or well-constructed - and not feeling any particular compulsion to make the purchase.

LOVE consignment stores in the ritzy areas - it's so fun to see what people pick then decide they no longer require. Sometimes it's pretty obvious they parted with the item even before the first wearing. How sad. But their extravagance can be my gain :).

About Me

I'm an American woman in my 60's, originally from Oklahoma, but now living in England. I write this blog mainly because I love to write, but also to share my experience of living abroad with others. I'm having a much bigger life than I ever imagined. I think it is one of the benefits of frugality, also of occasionally taking the scarier option.